Of Plymouth Plantation

Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford



"These troubles being blown over, and now all being compact together in one ship, they put to sea again with a prosperous wind, which continued divers days together, which was some encouragement unto them; yet, according to the usual manner, many were afflicted with seasickness. And I may not omit here a special work of God’s providence. There was a proud and very profane young man, one of the seamen, of a lusty, able body, which made him the more haughty; he would always be contemning the poor people in their sickness and cursing them daily with grievous execrations; and did not let to tell them that he hoped to help to cast half of them overboard before they came to their journey’s end, and to make merry with what they had; and if he Were by any gently reproved, he would curse and swear most bitterly. But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard. Thus his curses light on his own head, and it was an astonishment to all his fellows for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him.



http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/english/coke/bradford.htm




Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." 24 Mar. 2008. 24 Mar. 2008 http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/english/coke/bradford.htm.







Dear Diary,

Good ridance to that man. What ignorance he displayed. His talk of throwing the sick overboard was absurd. How could he threat such a thing, it is now clear as to why he had such a low position on the boat. When we had heard that he had fallen sick, we were all very overjoyed, some of us even threatened to throw him overboard. For days this had gone on, and we had tormented him until the day his fever had overtaken him and killed him. Although we had not recieved him that well, when he was thrown overboard, many weeped for him. I personally think it was because he was the first to have died on this shipwreck of a boat.